—Chapter2 There’s always a catch 

Tom’s eyes snapped open, with the events of the prior night crashing through his aching head. His eyes were having a hard time focusing on his surroundings, a blurry mess of indecipherable shadows. He attempted to reach a hand to rub his eyes but couldn’t manage to move his arm. Trying the other brought the same result. 

Struggling his shoulder and legs made alarm bells ring in head. He was trapped. He blinked hard, willing his eyes to focus, he saw that he was trapped in what appeared to be a thick burlap material with a series of ropes tied down the length of his body. Moving his arms and legs again, he felt a thick sludge ooze out of his confines. A sickly sweet smell hit his nose. 

Don’t panic, he told himself as he fought the urge to call out for help. He wanted to scream, if only to see anyone could hear him. 

Peering around as his vision was able to perceive more and more of his apparent prison. It looked like he was in a cave laying on a flat stone that jut out of the wall.  Light danced on the face of the wall beside him as he followed its curve into the ceiling of the cave. Strain as he might, he could not spot the source of the light. The stone he found himself on seemed to cut off not far from where he was as if he were on the top of a cliff. 

Cliff, he chimed the word back in his head, wondering how far the drop would be if he rolled off. Tom needed a plan, and that was impossible without information. Counting to three, he shifted his weight with a huff, and toppled onto his stomach slipping uncomfortably close to the edge. The drop was vast. It was not a distance one could survive while bound from head to toe.  

Tom started to take heavy breaths as he tried to inch his way back from certain death as movement caught his eye in the distance. It was another giant woman. This one was probably ninety feet tall, had a deep red skin color, with horns coming from the back of her head, hugging it tightly as they pointed forward. Her hair was a pale white that fell roughly to her shoulders. She wore dark leather that seemed to form a skirt and bra, but it looked barbaric compared to anything Tom would find someone wearing in the city. Her clothing did little to cover her large chest and thighs as she carried in wood from some unknown location. As she stood upright, Tom saw her chiseled abdominals form two long rows of powerful looking muscle. He could see the clear indications of muscle everywhere he looked. She must be some sort of warrior, he mused. 

As he was taking in the visage of the beast, he was still trying to inch backward from the edge of the cliff face. Panicking as he was, he still did not want to draw attention to himself. The burlap wrapping and the thick syrup within did not make his silent retreat any easier. 

As if hearing his challenge, the mixture within had started to seep on of his confines through the creases on the parchment. As the “goo” pooled below Tom, he began to slip forward at an alarming rate. If he didn’t think of something soon, he was going to fall to his death. 

He hated himself for what he was about to do, but hopefully he would live to regret it later. “Could I have some help?” he called at the top of his lungs to the giant who had since turned away. So much for staying hidden. 

“Why is the first response of you humans to always call for help?’ she threw her hands up as she turned to face the source of the cries. 

“I’m slipping!” Tom called back as loud as he could muster. 

“OH.” was her verbal response. However, her physical response was painfully slow in comparison as she lazily walked over to the human. She reached the shelf that rose to slightly below her collarbone. 

Tom watched as she just stood there, making no apparent attempt to halt his eventual fall. “Please! I’m about to fall!” he was pleading now. 

“I know. My hand is there to catch you.” 

Tom could not see her hands from his perch and he was still trying to prevent his fall which became harder to do by the second. He started using his chin to push himself backward but could not find purchase on the wet rock below. One loose rock was all it took for him to slip forward. Once he had momentum there was nothing to stop his descent. 

If he tried to yell a final plea, it only came out as a shrill scream of terror. He fell a short distance and collided with a surface that was barely softer than rock. His feet passed over his head as he settled on his back once again. Still tightly bound in his sticky prison, he found himself in the palm of the giant, utterly defenseless. Her purple eyes felt like they could pierce right through him if she merely focused enough. A smile crossed as she raised an eyebrow, “See? I caught you” 

“Thanks,” he squeaked. He had no plan or scheme to handle this situation. His mind reached for some option to get him out of these bonds and away from this creature. The smile remained on her face but seemed to hint at questions that went unasked. When none came he opted to make the first move this time. First thing’s first, he thought before he spoke, “a little help?” His head nodded to the damp bindings. 

Her smile widened, revealing her teeth. They looked fairly human but her top and bottom canines were longer and came to a sharp point. Everything about her was almost designed to instill fear in anyone she came across. He saw a second hand rise above as he almost forgot what he had asked her to do. “Hold still. I’d hate to lose you so soon,” she chimed as she gently pinched the bindings. The tight embrace faded quickly as she seemingly snapped the knots out of existence. “Let’s see how your wounds are coming.” 

“Wounds?” Tom queried as the parchment loosened its hold on him. “That’s right, My arm!” he exclaimed as he pulled his arm free. With the light from the fire still twinkling in the background, he was able to study his bare arm. Whatever damage caused from the events of the prior day was no longer visible. Looking at his other arm, he felt around to make sure that he did not have any other hidden injuries. He pulled the parchment away to check his chest. His pale skin was sticky and wet with whatever thick fluid accompanied him. 

“Good as new!” she chirped, “Looks like the medicine did the trick.” 

Tom was about to ask another question as he removed more of the parchment concealing his body, when he made a startling discovery. He was naked. Looking back up at the woman, trying to find some way to hide from her gaze. There was no relief from his embarrassment as the giant pulled the rest of his decency away. 

“No need to hide, I was the one who took your clothes off to begin with.” She said as she brought her hand closer to her face. 

“W-Why did you take off my clothes?” In truth, he could probably guess it was to spare them the same sticky fate. It was going to be hard enough to get himself clean, his close might have become unusable after being subjected to this.  

“Let's get you cleaned up, and then we can chat” she said as she unceremoniously closed the distance between her hand and her mouth. Tom didn’t even have time to let out a scream before his world went dark. The oppressive heat and humidity surrounded him from all angles as he began to thrash wildly. 

Her tongue drew him inwards and pressed the human against the roof of her mouth. He tried to scream again as the unrelenting muscle scraped over his exposed chest. All he succeeded to do was swallow a mouthful of her saliva. He could taste the sweetness of the medicine along with strong hint smoke that he inferred belonged to the giant. The dexterous tongue flipped Tom over with expert efficiency and made quick work of the sticky substance on his back 

Content with her handiwork, the giant flipped the trapped human over again. She had already removed medicinal gel off of his skin but she loved the way they struggled helplessly in her mouth. She wanted to put on one last show of the tiny creature before relieving him of her torment. 

Tom felt himself being pulled backward towards the awaiting throat. It almost appeared to twitch in anticipation of its next victim. Coughing out the remaining saliva that had invaded his mouth he began to thrash. He willed himself to use actual words rather than incoherent screams, “Wait! Wait! Wait!” he said in quick succession. “Wait!” his voice cracked as he called once more. 

Her lips curled into a wicked smile as she reached an idle hand up to her mouth. Parting her lips slightly, she gently reached into her mouth with her thumb and middle finger to grab one of the human’s thrashing legs. Tom felt his ears pop as the pressure on his right ankle pulled him out of his fleshy prison. The cold air immediately bracing his skin in a welcome refuge from the heat of her mouth.

“There, all clean” she was clearly pleased with herself as the damp human dangled in front of her. 

Tom coughed some remaining liquid from his mouth then spoke between greedy breaths, “I thought you were going to eat me.” His whole body felt sore from the intense exertion. 

She walked a short distance to another stone platform and set the tiny human down next to a pile of human clothes haphazardly tossed into a small heap. “Get dressed,” she ordered as she turned back around and started to walk to the other side of the cave. “I’m Hinba by the way.” Tom had already started to comply with her earlier demand, finding his clothes from the night before strewn towards the edge of the pile. After he was completely dressed once again, he spared a glance back at the pile of clothes. This sight of the pile made his blood run cold. 

“Oh,” Hinba chirped from the other side of the cave as she rummaged through a stone container. “Just to let you know, I'm not going to eat you. Not yet, anyway. We only just met” 

“Yet,” Tom droned as his face turned pale. A quick glance confirmed the entrance of the cave. The unmistakable glow of moonlight was a stare contrast to the red glow of the small fire that lay below. 

He darted down the length on the stone platform. This one was lower to the ground and significantly longer, however, Tom found that it still came to an end in a similar fashion as the others; with a sheer drop off. He skidded to a stop right before looking over a twenty foot drop. It wouldn’t kill him but he would probably break a few bones. His mind raced as he heard Hinba approached from behind. 

“Someone’s in a hurry” she laughed as she stretched a leg up and over the stone platform, using it as a bench and trapping Tom between a painful fall and the giantess. Her leather apparel draped over the toned red thighs. “I haven’t told you where we’re going yet” 

“You said you were going to eat me” He was about to say more before he was interrupted

“I am going to eat you, but not right now” Tom opened his mouth to speak but Hinba continued speaking over him, “I would like to make a deal with you, little one. Would you care to listen?” 

The fall was looking more preferable by the second. Tom would need to consider his words carefully from now on. Was she promising him a way out of this hell?

He didn’t make any effort to respond but Hinba pretended his silence was a tentative agreement to hear her out. A devilish smile returned as she leaned closer, threatening to push him off the edge with her impossibly large chest. “I can offer you safe passage back to your world” 

There was another brief silence, Tom guessed that if she had made this sales pitch before this was normally the part where she would pause for questions. He did not want to hear a script so he opted to avoid the obvious question, “How?” 

Hinba raised an eyebrow, this small human was thinking about his questions a bit more than most. She did her best to contain her excitement, “There’s a worldstone on the far side of the valley.  All you have to do is touch it and you’ll be sent back to wherever you call home.” 

Tom knew there was a catch, there was always a catch. He felt the question bubbling inside but forced himself to find something, anything, else to ask. “Could you point me in the direction of the world stone?” He croaked through a dry mouth, “I trust I can find my own way.”  He did not believe what he said but did his best to remain convincing. 

She kept her smile and dropped her jaw slightly in a feigned attempt to look shocked, “Do you remember what happened last night? You’d be in a Yōkai’s stomach right now if I didn't save you.” She leaned in closer again, “I hear they digest their meals very slowly”  She slowed her speech to a crawl to emphasize her point. “You wouldn’t last a day out there,” Her warm breath washed over Tom’s small form. A shudder crept up his spine. . 

Tom was beginning to feel weak. She was teasing him, just waiting for Tom to ask the only question left in his brain. He cursed himself for not thinking of a different question to ask, “If you take me to the worldstone, and allow me to return home, what do you get for your trouble?”

She sat upright, “Finally!” she exclaimed, “I get you.” She brought a finger to Tom’s chest nudging him slightly. “Specifically, I get your soul” 

Tom blinked as his mouth hung agape. Fuck trying to keep her off skript, “What do you mean?”

“I’m so glad you asked,” she folded her hands together as if she were about to present a speech, “You see, humans are such a nice treat but you are really small. There are not enough of you that fall through the world stone to really sustain me. I did find a way to siphon off your life force, it was never truly . . . filling” She placed a hand over her abdomen to drive home the point. “But one time I happened upon a new way to consume you tiny creatures. If one of you lets me eat them willingly, then I can digest their very soul.” her eyes seemed to almost glow and she spoke. “Just one soul of a human can satisfy me for months or even years!” 

Tom fell to his knees then sat down. He wanted to run but his body was no longer listening to the commands. “I’ll take you to the worldstone and let you return home where you can live your life, but then. . .” Her voice lowered to a purr, “You’ll come back to me.” she tapped a finger to her lower lip, “and fulfill your end of the bargain” she traced her finger slowly down her neck, across her collarbone, over her breast before resting her hand flat against her core. 

He watched the display with hollow eyes then turned upward to meet her gaze. Hinba’s mouth was still slightly agape and she was eyeing him hungrily. Her tongue seemed to dance inside of her mouth in anticipation. “Go on,” she broke the silence “Ask.” 

 His mouth felt dry. There was only one question he knew to ask. “And… And if I refuse?” 

“Then our fun stops here.” she quipped.  

“S-So I don’t have a choice?” 

“You always have a choice.” she shot back, “but if you’re truly in a hurry to end your journey before it’s even begun. . .” she paused to allow Tom to predict what she was going to say next, “you could just agree to let me eat you right now. After all, if you don’t have a choice, then why wait?” 

Tom cupped his face trying to process the situation. There was movement on the bench but he couldn’t bring himself to look up. He did not want to be consumed as if he were just some chunk of food but the term “willing” was wickedly ambiguous.  A gust of warm breath washed over him. Was she trying to trick him into a false sense of willingness by highlighting the futility of his decisions? He could feel the heat of mouth pass over him and knew he was out of time to think of a response. 

That’s it! “Time!” he shouted up to the open mouth that hung above him. Hinba stopped her descent at the sound but didn’t close her mouth or even move it away. Thick strands of saliva began to drip out onto Tom as if they were crying out in anticipation of the tasty meal that lay before them. “I would like some time to consider your offer. Maybe we could discuss it further on the way to the worldstone?” 

Now she retracted. As she sat upright once again, she rubbed arm across her mouth to collect the errant drool, “very well.” She extended an open palm to Tom. “Hop on.” she commanded, “We have a long way to the worldstone and I would like to make a few stops”  

Tom eyes the outstretched hand. As soon as he stepped onto the hand, that was it. He was implying his eventual agreement to Hinba’s deal. There’ll be chances to escape, Tom told himself, incredulous to believe he was giving up his agency over his life, or soul.

He stepped onto the hand, and was lifted slowly upward. Hinba stopped her hand briefly in front of her chest. It wasn’t a long pause but she always liked to know the “type” of human she was dealing with. Tom steadied himself as his accent was halted. His gaze was traveling upward, then his eyes went wide at the sight of her exposed cleavage. He had only had a moment to take in the view before he met her gaze. 

“See something you like?” she teased as Tom looked away. It was almost too easy to mess with the small human. “Oh, it looks like I missed a spot” 

“Where?” came Tom’s reply still facing away. He was still cursing himself for getting caught looking at the giant’s chest. Something warm impacted his back and he fell forward. Her lips pinned him face down on her open palm. He tried to struggle but it was a hopeless venture as he felt her tongue gently lap at the back of his neck. 

The pressure released but Tom was too dazed to move from his prone position. “Alright, you ready?” Hinba did not wait for a reply as they exited the cave into the moonlight.